- German government tries to sooth driver fears about diesel bans – Reuters: The German government played down the prospect of bans on heavily polluting diesel cars on Wednesday, a day after a court ruled … Cars drive past Germany’s Federal Administrative Court before it decides whether German law provides a legal basis for…
- Mitsubishi names Fred Diaz CEO of North America – Automotive News: Before joining Nissan in 2013, Diaz was CEO of Ram and CEO of Chrysler de Mexico and Latin America. Nissan recruited him as senior vice president for U.S. sales and marketing, reporting to Nissan North America Chairman Jose Munoz. Diaz was then…
- Citroen C4 MPVs drop Picasso name for Spacetourer – Autocar: Citroen has dropped the Picasso name from its line-up Firm says C4 Spacetourer and Grand C4 Spacetourer monikers are more closely aligned with its largest people carrier
Archives for February 2018
Wednesday Morning Auto News, Feb 28, 2018
February 28, 2018 By
Tuesday Morning Auto News, Feb 27, 2018
February 27, 2018 By
- German court rules in favor of city bans on diesel cars – Reuters: While other countries are also considering restrictions on diesel cars, a ban in the birthplace of the modern automobile is a new blow for the car industry, and an embarrassment for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government, which…
- Factbox: German court rules in favor of city bans on diesel cars – Reuters: A top German court ruled on Tuesday in favor of allowing major cities to ban heavily polluting diesel cars, a move likely to hit the value … Analysts have said the ruling of the Leipzig court will be crucial in shaping demand across Europe where…
- Aston Martin needs ‘big brother’ to survive autonomous wave – Automotive News: Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer says the supercar maker can be very profitable making 7,000 to 14,000 cars a year “but only by having a big brother.” … Li Shufu, who on Friday acquired a 9.7 percent stake in Daimler, owns UK sports-car maker Lotus…
World’s Largest Automakers 2018: The new race begins with VW in the lead
February 27, 2018 By
And they are off: The race for World’s Largest Automakers 2018 ended the first of its 12 laps with Volkswagen way ahead of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance and Toyota. Separated by only 529 units, the Alliance and Toyota are neck and neck.
With a 10.1% unit growth over January 2017, Volkswagen continues its strong showing of the last two months of 2017, giving the lie to those who mused that the Germans could have brought a few units forward into 2017 to regain the top spot.
Monday Morning Auto News, Feb 26, 2018
February 26, 2018 By
- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to abandon diesel engines by 2022 – Autocar: The Italo-American car group has pledged to phase out oilburners from the model ranges of its brands over the next four years
- 2018 Audi A6: new official video offers first glimpse of design – Autocar: Audi has offered the first official glimpse of its next A6 Fifth-generation Audi A6, due in the UK in April, will be equipped with level three self-driving technology, as first seen on Audi’s range-topper
- Daimler, MizMaa invest in Israeli tech startup Anagog – Reuters: German carmaker Daimler and U.S. venture capital firm MizMaa Ventures took part in a round of financing for Tel … it one of a growing number of multinational firms seeking to tap into Israel’s auto technology expertise as the industry moves towards…
- What to Know About Daimler in China After Geely’s Big Investment – Bloomberg: Li’s purchase of a stake of almost 10 percent in Daimler boosts the prospects of his car company Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., while raising questions for Warren Buffett-backed BYD Co. As Li tries to bring Geely closer to Daimler, the future of…
Toyota: News of the death of the ICE have been greatly exaggerated
February 26, 2018 By
It’s not Elvis. It’s a new ICE engine by Toyota. There will be more. (c) Bertel Schmitt
I came home tonight, and Frau Schmitto-san, ever the caring wife, asked: “How was your day?”
“I was at Toyota, they launched a completely new line of gasoline engines, transmissions, drivelines.”
Frau Schmitto-san was perplexed: „They still make those?”
This about sums up the level of EV hype, and its utter disconnection from the truth. The short trip to Toyota was a journey back to reality. [ There is more … ]
Take that, Uber: Nissan starts live tests of its autonomous taxi
February 23, 2018 By
Not quite driverless – yet (c) Bertel Schmitt
When Uber came along, the attendant Silicon Valley bombast was that Transport As A Service will leave the auto industry in ruins. It overlooked the minor detail that someone must make the cars that supposedly would be shared. Silicon Valley also did not anticipate what came next: In a first wave, car companies, always in search of new ways to sell cars, bought into the alleged disruptors. GM invested in Lyft, Toyota in Uber. The money was welcome. So were the sold, and leased out cars.
Today, we saw the first ripples of the second wave. Automakers are beginning to compete head-on with the erstwhile disruptors. Today in Yokohama, Nissan started a pilot with self-driving Leaf cars used as autonomous taxis. Partnering with e-commerce company DeNA, Nissan will start its “Easy Ride” service in Yokohama on March 5th, which puts it, according to Reuters, “among the first major automakers anywhere to test ride-hailing software developed in-house, using its own fleet of self-driving electric cars.” [ There is more … ]
Friday Morning Auto News, Feb 23, 2018
February 23, 2018 By
- BMW, Great Wall sign letter of intent for electric Mini JV in China – Reuters: Great Wall said in a separate statement a joint venture with BMW would greatly improve its technology level and brand premium, better meet the needs of consumers and further tap into the new energy vehicle market at home and abroad. Automakers and…
- Big Buys in GM, Sirius, Waste Management – Barrons: It bulked up on General Motors (ticker: GM) and sold more than half of its investment in Intel (INTC). The asset manager also bought more Waste Management (WM), Sirius XM Holdings (SIRI), and, unfortunately, General Electric (GE). APG Asset…
- Suzuki Ignis suspension upgraded to enhance ride quality – Autocar: Suzuki has tweaked its Ignis with new suspension components Dinky SUV-styled hatchback is said to be smoother over bumps when fully loaded thanks to new components
Thursday Morning Auto News, Feb 22, 2018
February 22, 2018 By
- Magna International results beat estimates on BMW, Jaguar launches – Reuters: N), Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE), BMW (BMWG.DE) and Ford Motor Co (F.N) among its top customers. Sales at Magna’s vehicle assembly business in Graz, Austria, more than doubled during the reported quarter, helped by the 2017 launch of the BMW 5-Series and…
- Former Audi board members have homes searched in emissions probe – Automotive News: German prosecutors searched the homes of three new suspects in connection with Audi’s emissions scandal on Thursday, further widening their inquiry into the automaker’s test-cheating scandal to include former executives. Two of the three individuals…
- 2019 Mercedes GLB: first video of ‘road-biased’ G-Class sibling – Autocar: This is the upcoming Mercedes-Benz GLB, the new small SUV which will be based on the A-Class New compact SUV will mix old-school styling cues with contemporary design touches when it goes on sale in 2019
